Anyway, I have began a new job on Monday (1st of September) in a nearby college, and as the above title states, I want to share something very important that I have seen for myself whilst I was working there. This is all in the hope that other people reading this will find this post as insightful as it was for me having to witness it. Plus, this will give me something to do whilst I'm off work ill today as well.
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On my 1st day working at a nearby college, I was working in a class where there was a boy who would not come into class, and had spent the whole day standing outside. This was all because he had been out of education for a WHOLE year. With that said, just spending 1 whole day in an education setting was enough for him to be overwhelmed, as he has unfortunately been so used to not being in one for this long.
Now, you'll be asking yourself: "Why was this boy out of education for an entire year?" The answer was (according to my colleague) the school was having problems with him, so they couldn't cope with him anymore. This, in my eyes, is nothing other than totally unacceptable for any young person. Let alone for anyone who has special educational needs, like this boy does.
There is proven evidence that being out of any educational setting for a prolonged period of time can have a really devastating impact on young people, as they fills their head with so much uncertainty, and not having any learning in an actual learning environment makes young people feel anxious, because they will be behind everyone else, regardless whether they are neurotypical & non-neurotypical people.
Although it is valid there are loads of educational settings that are struggling to accommodate SEN kids due to a sky high new cases for ASD, ADHD or any other condition, it is NOT valid for young people with SEN to be out of education just because the education system cannot find a way to cater for their needs. This is why so many SEN kids are falling behand in life due to a lack of education. I know things are getting done to improve the statistics, but this simply cannot continue for the foreseeable...
Luckily, Challengers (the part-time organisation I work for) have 2 specialist settings in Guildford & Farnham that run during the weekday where they support people from the ages of 2 - 18 who are currently out of education. Although they are not education settings in any shape or form, they do, however, provide these young people with activities that will become really beneficial for their social & emotional development. They know what it's like when a young person with SEN feels insecure by having their education placement broken down, as well as knowing the ripple effects it has on their families.
To gain a more visualised insight, I have attached a video:
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